OLIVIER PESLIER won his second Cathay Pacific International Jockeys Championship and HK$200,000 in a sensational finish at Happy Valley tonight.
The four-time French champion won the very first championship in 1998 and has been a regular star in this event. He scored 14 points with Australian Glenn Boss, Melbourne Cup hero on Makybe Diva, and Andreas Suborics, recent winner of the Japan Jockeys' Championship, sharing second place with 12 points after their victories on Harry Harry and Fortune Warrior in the first and last races respectively. They collected HK$50,000 each. Former winner, Yutaka Take, filled fourth spot.
Incredibly, Peslier, 33, was left without a ride in the final leg of the three race contest when his mount had to be scratched on veterinary advice but his closest pursuers failed to get enough points to overhaul Peslier's winning score.
Peslier finished only fifth in the first race but his two points proved vital after he rode a masterful race on Classa Supreme to lead from start to finish in the second leg. The Frenchman, who has won three Arc de Triomphes and two Japan Cups, set a strong gallop on John Moore's charge before slowing the pace in the back straight. Peslier didn't panic when his mount turned wide into the straight and he had left enough in reserve to win with authority.
A thrilled Peslier said: "It was hard to sit out the last race without a ride but luckily the jockeys behind didn't do well. Hey...it's great to have my name on this trophy again and for sure I will be back to defend this title."
Suborics's win in the last leg was marred by a terrible fall for Eddy Lai from Carrizo Creek. The local star lay motionless on the turf at the Clubhouse Bend but later news revealed that he was conscious and hopefully just battered and bruised.
Wednesday,
6 December 2006
The Cathay Pacific International Jockeys' Championship
will be held at Happy Valley Racecourse on 6 December. The championship
features 12 world-class riders who compete in three designated races.
Introduced in the 1998/1999 season, the event is a popular prelude to
the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong International Races on 10 December.
Jockeys earn points according to the placings
of their mounts (see below). They are then ranked based on their total
points accumulated over the three races.
1st – 12 points
2nd – 6 points
3rd – 4 points
4th – 3 points
5th – 2 points
In the event of a deadheat in any of the first
5 placings, the points are added and divided by the number of horses
involved and these apportioned points are then given to each jockey
concerned. The champion jockey will receive a cash prize of HK$200,000
and the 1st runner-up will receive HK$100,000.
History
Last year, ACE German jockey, Andrasch Starke, gained his second Cathay Pacific International Jockeys' Championship at Happy Valley on Wednesday, 7 December 2005.
Christophe Soumillon and Yutaka
Take shared the honours in a thrilling finish to the Cathay Pacific
Hong Kong International Jockeys' Championship at Happy Valley in 2004.
The French based star, Soumillon, and Japanese
ace, Take, scored a winner and a third apiece to score sixteen points.
It is the first time the Silver Whip trophy and has had joint victors
since its inception in 1998.
The previous winners of this event include
Frankie Dettori (1999 and 2001), Olivier Peslier (1998), Andrasch Starke
(2000 and 2005), Douglas Whyte (2002), Damien Oliver (2003), Christophe Soumillon (2004) and Yutaka
Take (2004).
